Did long-distance "slamming" get easier?
from Consumer Reports Magazine, June 2003

A federal appeals court has ruled that the Federal Communications Commission went too far with regulations designed to protect consumers from the federal crime of "slamming"--having your long-distance service switched to a different company without your consent.

The FCC has required long-distance companies to obtain actual authorization from the customer for a switch in service. The company had to obtain a letter authorizing the change or it had to have an independent party call the customer to confirm.

A letter or phone call is still required. But in a decision handed down on April 8, the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled that carriers must only believe they’re dealing with a customer capable of authorizing a switch. If the carrier is wrong, the switch is still legal.

Even with the court’s ruling, however, slamming remains a crime.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

• Ask your local phone company for a "primary interexchange carrier" freeze, which prevents any change unless you authorize it in writing.
  
  

• If your state has a "do not call" list, sign up to limit (but not eliminate) telemarketing calls.
  
  
• Promotions that use "free" checks may authorize a change in long-distance carriers when you endorse the check. Read the terms carefully.
  
  
• If you’ve been slammed, you are not required to pay the charges for the first 30 days; afterward, you must pay, but at the old company’s rates. Call the carrier you want and ask it to restore your calling plan and remove all "change of carrier" fees. Report the slamming to the FCC, state regulators, or both. The slamming company must pay your long-distance carrier 150 percent of any amount it collected from you. Your authorized company will then refund 50 percent of the charges you paid.